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There were no "Bring Back A.J." signs being held aloft by the loyalists at Rogers Centre Wednesday night.

Nor was there a thunderous roar of support when the man of the moment emerged from the left field bullpen after his pre-game tosses and slowly ambled toward the Toronto Blue Jays dugout.

For A.J. Burnett, who might very well have pitched his final game in a Blue Jays uniform Wednesday night, it appeared business as usual.

Unfortunately for Burnett, his teammates failed to live up to the moment as a watered-down New York Yankees lineup stung the Jays with a 6-2 victory in 10 innings.

After Toronto's Scott Rolen's solo home run blast tied the game at 2-2 in the seventh, the Yankees won it in the 10th , victimizing an erratic Jesse Carlson, the Jays' reliever, who loaded the bases for Bobby Abreu.

All Abreu did was smash a grand slam home run to right field that dashed Toronto's hopes and caused many of the 28,701 in attendance to start fleeing for the exits.

Enjoying his finest season as a professional with 19 wins, it is widely anticipated that Burnett will try to cash in on his success and exercise his option at the end of this season so he can sell his considerable talents on the free-agent market.

Last night was Burnett's final scheduled start of the regular season.

It was only when Burnett - already at 117 pitches - was taken out of the game at the beginning of the ninth inning in a tied ballgame did the crowd appear to come to the realization this might be his last stand as a Jay.

They stood and cheered as Burnett made his way off the mound in what was his 80th game in a Toronto uniform, waving his glove and tipping his cap in recognition of the support.

And when they kept cheering, Burnett emerged from the dugout to accept his curtain call.

Although he left the game with a no-decision it was a vintage outing as the American League strikeout leader padded his totals with 11 more over his eight innings of work where he allowed two New York runs off seven hits.

Toronto manager Cito Gaston said before the game he had never given any consideration that last night's start could be Burnett's swan song in a Blue Jays uniform.

"I just figured if he wins … he might want to start over in Baltimore [in the season finale on Sunday]," Gaston said. "I never even thought of it that way."

Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi has gone on record as saying he might be willing to sweeten the pot in order to entice Burnett into staying, but would not enter into any bidding war.

Gaston, eyeing a bare-bones starting rotation next season in the absence of Burnett, obviously wants the veteran pitcher to return. But the manager said it is Ricciardi's job, not his, to persuade Burnett of that.

"I don't feel like that's my thing to do," Gaston said.

Besides, he has other matters on his mind: like the ongoing negotiations for a contract of his own for next season.

Gaston said last week he thought he would have a new deal in hand before the Jays concluded their final homestand of the season, which winds up today.

As of last night, Gaston said he's still haggling over some of the details with Ricciardi, and he is hopeful something will get done in the near future.

Blue Jays second baseman Aaron Hill, who missed the last four months of the season after suffering a concussion, was on hand for last night's game.

After three weeks of total inactivity, the 26-year-old said he is finally symptom-free from the dizziness and nausea that has plagued him but is still not sure what might await him once he resumes athletic pursuits.

Hill is hoping a trip today to the neurologist will ease some of his worries.

"There's no reason for them not to clear me [for exercise] now," he said. "I don't know why he wouldn't. I don't want to do any more of those tests. … I'm tired of doing all that meeting people. I just want to relax and have an off-season."

While the Blue Jays have placed a premium on catching New York in the American League East standings to finish in third spot, it's obvious the Yankees could care less.

After failing to make the postseason for the first time in 14 seasons, New York is in shutdown mode, with the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Derek Jeter all being held out of the starting lineup.

Sub-par lineup or not, it was the Yankees who carried a 2-1 lead into the later innings, courtesy of a Xavier Nady single in the third that scored two runners.

Burnett got plunked on the left leg by a Robinson Cano line drive in the third inning, but shook it off to remain in the game.